Libby to consider ordinance targeted at distracted driving
A person was taken to the hospital after a two-vehicle accident Wednesday afternoon on Mineral Avenue in Libby. A van reportedly struck an unoccupied pickup truck, pushing it off the street. (Taylor Resch/The Western News)
Libby City Councilors will soon be looking at a proposed ordinance directed at curtailing distracted driving.
At Monday’s meeting, Police Chief Cody Ercanbrack said he would present a proposal to council. In a phone conversation Thursday with The Western News, Ercanbrack said he’d provided the department’s recommendations to city officials.
It came on the heels of the chief providing statistics at the council meeting about the number of traffic accidents that occurred in the city during September.
“We responded to 11 crashes and three of them, which people admitted, were due to distracted driving,” Ercanbrack said. “It’s a nationwide problem and I think an ordinance could help cut back on what we’re having here.”
One of those September distracted driving crashes included an injury.
“We’ve had 68 crashes in the city for the year through the end of September, many were fender benders, but eight had injuries,” he said.
Ercanbrack said the measure would primarily be focused on texting and using a phone while holding it and driving. Those using hands-free devices to have a phone conversation are not part of the proposal.
He also said the proposal would be based off what has been done in Whitefish, Columbia Falls, Billings and other Montana cities.
He also said the proposal would include other potential distractions, such as drivers with pets in their laps, putting on makeup or having too much stuff in a vehicle that obstructs the view of the driver.
Ercanbrack said the proposed ordinance would not include people using their devices to report a health, fire or safety emergency.
“The main thing is we want people to be safe,” he said. “We don’t want to prevent people from reporting emergencies, either. We know it’s frustrating for people, but safety is our primary concern.”
Councilor Kristin Smith asked if the state had any laws on the books regarding cell phone use while driving.
“No,” Ercanbrack said. “But many municipalities have.”
Montana is the only state in the U.S. that doesn’t have a ban on texting while driving. State lawmakers have considered bills to ban cell phone use, but none have passed.
According to the Montana Department of Transportation, 12 cities, two counties and one tribal reservation have banned the use of cell phones while driving.
They include Columbia Falls, Whitefish, Missoula, Hamilton, Cut Bank, Shelby, Havre, Great Falls, Helena, Anaconda/Deer Lodge, Butte/Silver Bow, Bozeman, Billings, Baker and the Fort Peck Reservation.
Whitefish passed its ban in 2011. It prohibited the use of hand-held cell phones while driving. Columbia Falls passed its ordinance in 2012.
According to the Montana Department of Transportation, sending or receiving a text takes a driver’s eyes from the road for an average of 4.6 seconds, the equivalent – at 55 mph -of driving the length of an entire football field, blind.
Texting while driving is one of the most dangerous of all distracted driving activities, because it takes a driver’s hands off the wheel and eyes and mind off the road.
According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration figures, more than 3,000 people die in crashes involving a distracted driver annually. In 2022, distracted driving crashes claimed 3,308 lives nationally and an estimated additional 289,310 people were injured.
The chief recalled one traffic stop he was involved in while working in Idaho.
“I was sure it was going to be a DUI. The vehicle was swerving back and forth across the road, but after I stopped him it turned out he was watching a lewd movie on his phone,” Ercanbrack said.